Banjo ukulele quality

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Hi, just curious what are the differences between the mid level and higher level banjo ukuleles in terms of playability and sound.

For instance I tried a sidekick/duke ukulele and it was not right for me, felt clumsy in my hands and was harsh sounding (for my bad playing).

I have looked at the gold tone and deering at the mid level, and the mya moe as a better instrument, but I am used to evaluating instruments based on Tonewood, and some other things that are not as applicable I think to the banjo.

Thanks!
 
There are a couple of "mid-level" banjo ukes that you might look at: Waverly and Firefly. Either I believe are preferable to the heavy metal Asians you mentioned..............and are competitive price wise. The Mya-Moe (formerly Beansprout) is a high end, extremely well built great player. Perhaps the finest banjole on the market. Apples and oranges.
 
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I have a resonated concert Lanikai and an open back tenor Gold Tone. The Lanikai is okay for strumming, but pretty quiet (for a banjolele) when finger picked. The Gold Tone is okay for both.

Their both nice, but I prefer real banjos. :eek:ld:
 
Depending on how you define "harsh," that may come with the territory with a banjo uke (although I prefer "brash"). Many banjo ukes have small (8") heads, which may exacerbate this by really emphasizing the treble tones-- this helps the banjo uke cut through the way it does, but it's not a tone for everyone. The Deering banjo uke, in addition to be extremely well-made, has a much larger head (11"), which gives it a fuller tone with more bass. While to my ear, it's not a "traditional" banjo uke tone (think George Formby), it still sounds great and may address your issue with harshness.

I have a Gold Tone BU-C, which I think is a good middle-of-road instrument; good tone, good construction, decent price. I also have a Ludwig Wendell Hall, which sounds amazing...but costs a tad more :).
 
RichM said:
Depending on how you define "harsh," that may come with the territory with a banjo uke (although I prefer "brash"). Many banjo ukes have small (8") heads, which may exacerbate this by really emphasizing the treble tones-- this helps the banjo uke cut through the way it does, but it's not a tone for everyone. The Deering banjo uke, in addition to be extremely well-made, has a much larger head (11"), which gives it a fuller tone with more bass. While to my ear, it's not a "traditional" banjo uke tone (think George Formby), it still sounds great and may address your issue with harshness.

I have a Gold Tone BU-C, which I think is a good middle-of-road instrument; good tone, good construction, decent price. I also have a Ludwig Wendell Hall, which sounds amazing...but costs a tad more :).
Click to expand...

I believe the Deering's head is 12"--very large . . . :eek:ld:
 
stevejfc said:
There are a couple of "mid-level" banjo ukes that you might look at: Waverly and Firefly. Either I believe are preferable to the heavy metal Asians you mentioned..............and are competitive price wise. The Mya-Moe (formerly Beansprout) is a high end, extremely well built great player. Perhaps the finest banjole on the market. Apples and oranges.
Click to expand...

Firefly an intermediate banjo uke? I certainly wouldn't classify it as such. Re: heavy metal Asians, none of them are as heavy as a Beansprout, accessories being equal. Asian banjo ukes, with the right setup, velum, and strings can hold their own with those costing much more.
 
I guess by harsh I am thinking of the lack of fullness, or the aspect of a banjo ukulele that can make it sound more mechanical than a banjo does.

These are all helpful suggestions, it is sounding like the deering might be the way to go.
 
Down Up Dick said:
I believe the Deering's head is 12"--very large . . . :eek:ld:
Click to expand...

I know nothing about banjos and banjoukes, so this is a good place to ask: Does a 12" head make the instrument substantially louder than a 8" one? Or is the main impact that the sound is fuller and deeper? Or both, like with, say, tenors vs. sopranos?
 
I don't know, Mivo, I think the big head makes it sound more banjo-like. I suppose more like a tenor banjo. I don't care for its looks, but I suppose that's just my opinion.

I think my two cost over $400 a piece, and, if one is gonna pay that much, maybe he/she oughta pay a bit more and just get a tenor banjo or even a 5 string.
:eek:ld:
 
Banjo ukes are finicky critters. To get the most out of one requires some "Banjo 101" training.

Of the two banjo ukes still in the stable, the 8" (head-size) SideKick gets much more playing time than the 11" Deering. Both require the same "care and feeding" of any banjo. Basically, that's typical set-up stuff followed by periodic adjustments to keep the head taut and responsive. The head adjustments are something folk tend to let slide, but the sound difference resulting from a properly tightened head are what makes a banjo uke a keeper or not. My unscientific experience is that the nylon-stringed banjo uke is much more sensitive to head tautness issues than a steel-stringed banjo.

As far as "quality" goes, until one has the banjo uke set up to meet one's unique playing demands - especially getting the head properly tightened the first time - one cannot judge the "quality" by the playing result. Have not found two yet that sound the same, but that's to be expected since there are so many construction variables. However, have never found one that sounded great out-of-the-box, but with just a little bit of work sang like a canary.
 
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Goldtone just brought out a 5 string with composite pot for $199. I suggested a short scale tenor that a lot of banjo ukers might want to move up to...said they'd start working on a prototype. Should be quite a bit lighter than similar models.
 
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I recently fell victim to UAS and bought one of the new Deering tenor scale banjo ukuleles and I am currently trying to make friends with it. It, indeed, has a 12 inch "pot" and, compared to the ukes that I am used to, is HEEAAVVY! The first job was to round up one of my old guitar straps to help shoulder the load. Next, I invested in a wood arm guard 'cause the metal hooks are definitely uncomfortable the way I hold it. Then the learning process of setting it up to get the intonation correct. It doesn't come with any instruction, but I found some on the Deering website. Seems as though you gotta slide the unattached bridge back and forth til you find the sweet spot on your particular instrument. Having done that, it starts to sound very banjo like, which is good. The craftsmanship is excellent without a doubt. And, for sure , this baby is LOUD. You can add a pickup, but why? In fact, I added some foam material under the head to bring it down a few db. I didn't mean to give a full review, but I hope these few observations help. I really think we're going to get along just fine after a sufficient bonding period. Good luck with your search.
 
Just to toss my 2 cents in here... I have a Firefly and just love it! Extremely lightweight, well made (in the USA), great action and intonation, looks really cool, and has a loud, clear tone with a vintage vibe to the sound.

Well worth the very reasonable price, IMO.


Scooter
 
Kind of a different perspective from someone who only keeps a banjo uke around for Christmas singalongs and other "special" situations...

Before you run the risk of over-thinking a banjo uke, consider what you will be using it for. Unlike a traditional uke, a banjo uke is kind of limited in its uses and the variety of tones you can squeeze out of it. My first banjo uke purchase was a $400 Gold Tone, which was a major disappointment for me right out of the box because it had a very limited dynamic range. I soon realized that's what a banjo uke is, but not after I had returned the Gold Tone and bought a Tom Banjo Uke (I think they also market this as a "Rally") for less than $200. The interesting thing was, I liked the Tom better than the Gold Tone and I still really enjoy playing it.

Take this advice along with all the other comments from much better, more experienced players than I am. If you're only looking for something that "sort of" simulates a banjo when the situation calls for it, you don't need to spend a lot of money. Check out the many lesser-known brands first.
 
Papa Tom said:
... bought a Tom Banjo Uke (I think they also market this as a "Rally") for less than $200. The interesting thing was, I liked the Tom better than the Gold Tone and I still really enjoy playing it....
Click to expand...

Might I ask if you have the link to the web site for this instrument, or if not, the luthiers name or the name of his shop?

I'd like to find out more about these instruments and a google search shows too many results for me to narrow it down easily. THANKS!
 
Papa Tom said:
.....Take this advice along with all the other comments from much better, more experienced players than I am. If you're only looking for something that "sort of" simulates a banjo when the situation calls for it, you don't need to spend a lot of money. Check out the many lesser-known brands first.
Click to expand...

Good advice! I got my first banjo uke (an Oscar schmidt) after playing tenor banjo for a while. That turned out not as well as I hoped, and the OS found another home. Then came the Deering banjo uke, since it was a cut-down neck-wise from the tenor banjo. Again, while it's a good instrument, it never has been a "go to" favorite for no fault of its own. Then, along comes the $200 SideKick, and (with some custom setup) that finds itself being routinely picked up and played, especialy for those "pick out a new tune" times while enjoying a cold one in the back yard.

The instrument price is not always the best measure of how much enjoyment the instrument will provide.
 
Glad I found this thread! I've been researching banjo uke options after realizing I need a louder instrument for busking (my partner plays tuba). So far, I had been leaning towards the Kala. Then I saw a video of Bela Fleck playing a Gold Tone BUS. I would probably go for the BUC or BUT. I appreciate all the opinions I'm seeing here.

This may be off-topic, but has anyone mounted a pickup on their banjo uke? I'm thinking of sticking one piezo on the underside of the head right under the bridge.

-Brad
 
Brad Graham said:
...This may be off-topic, but has anyone mounted a pickup on their banjo uke? I'm thinking of sticking one piezo on the underside of the head right under the bridge.
Click to expand...

A good friend of mine has one of these on his Goldtone BUB:

McIntyre BF-60 Acoustic Feather Banjo Pickup
http://www.bluestarmusic.com/McIntyre-BF-60-Acoustic-Feather-Banjo-Pickup_p_919.html

and these put out a great sound. The are VERY different physically from almost all other pickups in that they are PVDF Piezo FILM and not a disc, rod or coax cable like other pickups, and as such the FILM will flex and bend the same as the way that the banjo head does as it resonates, and being longer than most other pickups you can get a wider frequency response and more overtones which you can always filter out with eq later if you dont want them...as well as greater volume...you can easily attach it with a strip of gaffers tape, which also makes it easy to reposition or remove...

He runs the output of this pickup into an LR Baggs Para-DI preamp and then out to the house PA system when he performs where there is a PA, otherwise he uses the output direct to an LR Baggs Loudbox mini amp.

He always gets compliments on the sound...

Hope this helps! :)
 
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